Friday, October 30, 2009

Thursday in Times Square

I like the idea of less vehicular traffic and more people-friendly venues, but the way they've done it Times Square makes me sick.

Our city is supposed to be a real city with real people, doing real things, not a yuppie/tourist friendly pedestrian super mall where they sit on lounge chairs with a StarFucks in their hands, gazing at the flashing lights and video screens.

Our city is being corporatized, sterilized and homogenized to the point of becoming indiscernable from any other city.

Those who are attracted to the mythos of Noo Yawk City have no fucking clue. The New York City they've heard so much about, and the people and venues that have made New York City unique, are pretty much all gone.

They are nice shots, Bob, but the point I'm making is that these could be of any city, now that Times Square has been sterilized and homogenized....

Even the NY Times is no longer part of Times Square, having reneged on the tax abatement deal they got from the city, whereby they agreed to STAY at 229 W43, which they're now trying to sell for a mega-million profit.

With assistance from mayor Bloombag, The Times availed themselves of the city's ability to use "eminent domain" for the benefit of the private sector, mowing down a row of buildings along Eighth Avenue across from the Port Authority in order to erect their architectural monstrosity at 620 Eighth Avenue, thereby contributing further to the uglification of NYC.